In December 2015, three Class II felony charges of aggravated indecent assault were filed against American media personality Bill Cosby in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, based on allegations by Andrea Constand concerning incidents in January 2004. Cosby's first trial in June 2017 ended in a mistrial. Cosby was found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault at retrial on April 26, 2018, and on September 25, 2018, he was sentenced to three to ten years in state prison and fined $25,000 plus the cost of the prosecution, $43,611.
Cosby appealed on June 25, 2019, and the verdict was subsequently upheld and granted an appeal by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. On June 30, 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that an agreement with a previous prosecutor, Bruce Castor, prevented Cosby from being charged in the case, and overruled the conviction. The Supreme Court's decision prevents him from being tried on the same charges a third time. The Montgomery County district attorney's office filed a certiorari petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, but on March 7, 2022, the petition was denied, making the decision of the state supreme court final.
Background
Bill Cosby has been accused by over 60 women of rape, drug-facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse, and sexual harassment. The earliest incidents allegedly took place in the mid-1960s. Assault allegations against Cosby became more public after a stand-up routine by comedian Hannibal Buress in October 2014, alluding to Cosby's covert sexual misbehavior; thereafter, many additional claims were made. The dates of the alleged incidents have spanned from 1965 to 2008 in ten U.S. states and in one Canadian province. Cosby has maintained his innocence and repeatedly denied the allegations made against him. Amid the allegations, numerous organizations severed ties with Cosby and revoked honors and titles previously awarded to him. Media organizations pulled reruns of The Cosby Show and other television programs featuring Cosby from syndication. Ninety-seven colleges and universities rescinded honorary degrees.
Most of the alleged acts fall outside the statute of limitations for criminal legal proceedings, but criminal charges were filed against Cosby in one case and numerous civil lawsuits were brought against him. As of November 2015, eight related civil suits were active against him. Gloria Allred represented 33 of the alleged victims. In July 2015, some court records were unsealed and released to the public from Andrea Constand's 2005 civil suit against Cosby. The full transcript of his deposition was released to the media by a court reporting service. In his testimony, Cosby admitted to casual sex involving recreational use of the sedative-hypnotic methaqualone (Quaaludes) with a series of young women, and he acknowledged that his dispensing of the prescription drug was illegal.
2015 criminal charges
On December 30, 2015, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Cosby was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Constand as a result of a single incident alleged to have occurred at his home in Cheltenham Township on an unspecified date between mid-January and mid-February 2004 (referred to by media coverage as "January 2004"), according to the very detailed arrest warrant affidavit filed on December 29, 2015. These were the first criminal charges as a result of sexual assault allegations that had been made by many women against Cosby.
Cosby was arraigned that afternoon without entering a plea; his bail was set at $1 million. Cosby surrendered his passport, posted bond, and was escorted to the Cheltenham Township police station to be booked, fingerprinted, and photographed for a mug shot. The charges are based on Constand's statement to police of unwanted sexual contact, though not intercourse, in early 2004, that had been first reported to the Durham Regional Police Service near Constand's home in southern Ontario, Canada, on January 13, 2005; the report was forwarded to authorities in Pennsylvania. On February 17, 2005, the then-district attorney, Bruce Castor, had released a statement that charges would not be brought at that time.
Constand launched a civil lawsuit against Cosby in 2005 which was settled by the defendant in July 2006, on a confidential basis. Some of the testimony from that case was unsealed in July 2015. Based on details revealed in this testimony, along with new interviews with certain witnesses, newly elected District Attorney Kevin Steele decided to file charges on December 30, 2015. The criminal court documents allege that blue pills, said to be Benadryl by Cosby, were given to Constand, who had also been drinking wine during the January 2004 incident.
Cosby's attorney issued a statement saying, "We intend to mount a vigorous defense against this unjustified charge and we expect that Mr. Cosby will be exonerated by a court of law." Cosby's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the sexual assault charges in January 2016, stating that Castor's office had promised in 2005 that Cosby would not be prosecuted. In testimony involving Cosby's motion to dismiss the charges, Castor defended his decision not to bring charges, citing among other things Constand's year-long delay in reporting the allegations, her continued contact with Cosby, and suggestions that she and her mother might have tried to extort the TV star.
On February 3, 2016, Judge Steven O'Neill ruled "there was no basis" to dismiss the case based on Cosby's assertions. Cosby's legal team sought an appeal before the Superior Court of Pennsylvania; on April 25, 2016, the Superior Court refused to hear Cosby's appeal from the denial of his motion to dismiss the charges, lifted a temporary stay of the pre-trial hearing, and sent the case back to the original court. On April 13, 2016, Cosby filed a motion with the Superior Court to re-seal the deposition from the original Constand lawsuit. His lawyers made a similar request in federal court in Massachusetts earlier, but that motion was denied by Judge David H. Hennessy, who likened these efforts to putting the "toothpaste back in the tube" since Cosby's testimony had already been in the news for months.
At the preliminary hearing on May 24, a judge found that there was enough evidence to proceed with a trial, despite the fact that Constand did not testify, which is allowed under Pennsylvania law. He set a pre-trial hearing for September 6. Cosby appealed this decision based upon the belief his legal team had the right to cross-examine the accuser; he lost this appeal on October 12. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced it would review the state law in a separate case, to which Cosby's lead attorney, Brian McMonagle, said he would try to add Cosby's case in hopes of having it thrown out. On September 6, 2016, Judge Steven O'Neill set a trial date for June 6, 2017. On April 12, 2017, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to hear Cosby's appeal to question Constand before the trial.
First trial On September 6, 2016, Judge Steven T O'Neill set a trial date in the case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. William H. Cosby Jr., in which Cosby would be tried for three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Constand. O'Neill set a trial date of June 5, 2017. The judge ruled because Cosby is blind he would need special accommodations during the proceedings. On October 6, Cosby resumed his bid to have his sexual assault case thrown out, arguing that his due process rights were violated. On November 16, O'Neill denied the motion.
Cosby faced a maximum sentence of fifteen to thirty years in prison if found guilty on all three counts and a fine of up to $25,000.
Pretrial motions
Evidentiary motions On September 6, 2016, the prosecution filed a motion to introduce thirteen other accusers to show a method of operation. Cosby opposed the motion. On February 24, 2017, O'Neill ruled that, out of the other accusers that the prosecution wanted to introduce to show a pattern of alleged criminal sexual behavior by Cosby, only one would be allowed to testify.
The prosecution also moved to introduce into evidence a recorded conversation between Constand's mother Gianna and Cosby discussing the alleged assault. The defense moved to have the deposition from Constand's 2005 civil deposition thrown out. The judge said he would rule on all these motions at a later date. On September 16, O'Neill ruled that the recorded call between Constand's mother and Cosby would be allowed to be played in court. In his ruling he said that since the call was recorded in Canada, which deems recordings lawful with consent from only one party, it would be admissible. On December 5, O'Neill ruled that the deposition in the Constand civil case and any other evidence gathered by using it would be allowed into the trial.
On March 28, 2017, Cosby's defense filed a motion stating that any mention of any other sexual offenses allegedly committed by Cosby should be excluded and that any of Cosby's admissions in his deposition about using Quaaludes or other women he had sex with should also be excluded, even though the judge ruled previously that all information in the deposition would be allowed in court. On March 30, the prosecution opposed this motion and added that comments Cosby made in television interviews with Larry King and in his 1991 book named Childhood about his quest for "Spanish Fly" showed that he was well aware of date rape drugs and that this should also be put into the trial as evidence. On April 28, O'Neill ruled that the use of "Spanish Fly" and any other material from Cosby's book Childhood would not be allowed. He did however rule that his testimony about Quaaludes would be allowed. O'Neill also ruled that the amount of money paid in Constand's lawsuit settlement would be excluded.
Jury selection On December 30, 2016, Cosby's defense team filed a motion for a change of venue and sought a jury selection from a larger pool outside Montgomery County, arguing that any local jury pool would be tainted given negative media coverage of Cosby. On January 5, 2017, the prosecution wrote that the trial should stay in the county, but they would not object to a jury picked from outside the county. On February 27, 2017, O'Neill ruled that he would allow a jury from outside the county but the trial would remain in Montgomery County; he also ruled the jury would be sequestered. On March 13, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a one-paragraph order setting Allegheny County as the county from which the jury pool would be picked. Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, is the state's second most-populous county.
In March 2017, the defense asked the court to call up 2,000 people as potential jurors. They wished to mail the potential jurors a questionnaire so lawyers could winnow the field of potential jurors. The prosecution objected to Cosby's defense team's requests as to the number of jurors to be questioned, the manner in which they were to be selected, and the timeframe for jury selection, saying Cosby was trying to get special treatment. On April 11, O'Neill denied the defense motions on screening jurors and ruled that jury selection would start on May 22 in Pittsburgh, using the usual procedures of law and lasting up to a week. There would be twelve jurors and six alternates. O'Neill also denied a request by the defense to get extra strikes.
On May 24, 2017, the jury selection process was completed. The jury consisted of one black woman, one black man, six white men, four white women and six alternates.
Jane Doe No. 6 Jane Doe No. 6 was a witness for the prosecution and was the only one of the thirteen Jane Does that O'Neil allowed to testify. She is a black woman who came forward in January 2015 under the alias "Kacey". She claimed that in 1996 Cosby gave her a drug and wine and sexually assaulted her.
Racial bias claims